Senate candidate talks issues

Konetchy sees debt as big trouble for U.S.

October 05, 2011|LOU MUMFORD | Tribune Staff Writer

Lou Mumford,

EDWARDSBURG -- Yes, says Pete Konetchy, he'd be a lone voice in Congress should he win the Republican nomination to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's seat next year and defeat the Michigan Democrat in the November 2012 election.

But he's quick to add his voice is needed if the United States is to continue to be the world's greatest nation.

"I would be a lone voice, I realize that, but I won't be a Debbie Stabenow. I want to cut government," he told a group of some two dozen people Tuesday during a stop at the Ontwa Township Hall.

A guest of the Cass County Republican and tea parties, Konetchy, a Roscommon, Mich., businessman and father of five, is one of several Republicans who have lined up to challenge Stabenow. As a first-time candidate, he's a long shot to win such a high-profile seat but he argued he targeted Stabenow's post because the country's problems are bunched at the federal level.

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Essentially, he said, the federal government has overstepped its bounds, particularly since 1930 when it began creating programs it had no right to create. The result, he said, has been a rise in the federal debt that since 1980 has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

Konetchy sees disaster ahead, he said.

"Unless we get our spending under control, our country is in deep, deep trouble," he said. "Our country is going to explode in debt, just like Greece."

Should he have his way, he'd ratchet down spending to 2 or 3 percent of the gross domestic product, he said, thus shrinking the debt. He advocated also balanced federal budgets, arguing there might be more support for such measures than some think.

An anti-abortion rights candidate who supports a repeal of the federal health care mandate and, most importantly, strict adherence to the Constitution, he has called for securing the country's borders and discontinuing benefits to illegal immigrants. On Tuesday, he also advocated energy development on federal land, which he argued would make the U.S. energy independent.

Asked if he considers himself a tea party candidate, he said he agrees with its philosophies. On the issue of foreign aid, it's OK only if it directly benefits the U.S., he said.

But it's the economy where Konetchy has hung his hat and hopes to make the most political hay.

"The government can't create jobs. .... We drain so much out of the private sector, we're ruining the economy," he said. "Rather than taking money out of the private sector, I'd cut tax rates dramatically. And I'd do away with all repressive EPA and labor restrictions. I'd make us business friendly.

"You hear that big business is evil. Big business isn't evil. They're the only ones that generate products people purchase."